


If We're Being Realistic

by FrazzledDragon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Buggy Friendship, Chloé redemption arc, Gen, Happy Ending, Lila the Liar, Not Canon Compliant, Realistic class response to Lila, basically chloe, but then again, s3ep01 response, takes a side and everyone is floored, the episode itself isn't really super canon compliant, who stood back and did nothing in the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-12 22:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16880298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrazzledDragon/pseuds/FrazzledDragon
Summary: Marinette vs Lila.Chloe takes a side.Her words pack a punch.





	1. Chapter 1

It felt like everyone in the room was holding their breaths.

One second. Two seconds. Three second.

“Ow!” Lila exclaimed, almost as an afterthought. “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

There was an uproar of commotion, most of it yelling directed at Marinette who had thrown the napkin. Lila calmed the crowd, spewing some nonsense about how she had caught to save Max’s eye, and how Marinette hadn’t meant to harm her.

Marinette could feel Alya’s disbelieving, distrustful gaze on her, but all she focus on was Max… And her desire to strangle Lila, but that was secondary.

“No…” Max said eventually.

“No?” Lila echoed in disbelief, the other classmates echoing her.

“That napkin could not have taken my eye out. That… That was a lie, plain and simple,” Max calmly accused. He seemed to be taking his time with the words, assuring himself that he was right. Max was like a human calculator, intensely smart, but also kind. Much like Marinette, he wasn’t one to make accusations if he wasn’t sure.

The room’s tension could have been sliced with a butter-knife. Everyone was silent, waiting for Max to continue. To prove his point and simultaneously Marinette’s.

“Firstly, I’m wearing glasses. Marinette would have had to throw the napkin in a high arc to even get close to hitting my eyes in the first place, and she had less of a five percent chance of hitting my glasses anyway. It would have been a crazy trick shot and it would have been clear, had she been aiming for me, that she  _ was _ aiming for me. Clearly, however, she was not. Even if it had hit me, it would have hit me in the stomach and cause no damage whatsoever.

“Secondly, the napkin itself, even if I had not been wearing glasses and she had thrown it in my general direction, could not have done me any harm as it was.” He plucked the napkin from Lila’s hand, unwrinkling it. “The napkin is clean and unused. As it is now, it doesn’t have the weight to cause and real harm. It’s a miracle in and of itself that Marinette was able to throw it as far as she did. Even if the napkin had hit me in the eye, it would have done nothing but caused me, at worst, mild discomfort. The napkin has neither the weight, force, or firmness needed to cause injury and even then, Marinette wasn’t aiming for me. She was proving her earlier accusations. Lila lied to you. And I don’t enjoy the presence of liars.”

Max picked up his tray, and sat down at the table near where Marinette was standing.

Everyone stood with their jaws on the floor for a long moment, staring at Max, staring at Marinette, staring at Lila.

No one noticed when Chloe and Sabrina walked in. “Good. You’re all quiet and I’ve got something I wanna say,” Chloe barked. “Marinette’s telling the truth. Lila’s lying to you guys. And I’ve got proof.”

Marinette’s jaw dropped even further.  _ Chloe Bourgeois  _ was defending her? Before Alya?

“Whatever that thing that she claims is going in her ear… Tinnitus? Whatever… It’s easily treatable. My father has it. He wears this hearing aid thing and it allows him to hear like everyone else. He could easily sit in the back if he wanted to, he just doesn’t because any self-respecting mayor of Paris wouldn’t. The hearing aid is not particularly expensive, nor is it hard to find. Google it if you don’t believe me. Any ambassador would easily be able to afford the device. You can tell from the way Lila dresses there’s money in her family. There is no reason they would let her travel with them if they didn’t care about her, and there is no reason as ambassadors that they would not have the money or friends in order to provide the hearing aid for their daughter.”

Marinette was pretty sure the world had stopped turning. The cafeteria was  _ eerily _ still.

“My mother had the same wrist problem as Lila, too. Except her wrist was ridiculously swollen and was unmistakably injured. She took ibuprofen and went to physical therapy until it was better. Lila is fishing for sympathy, as her wrist is clearly  _ not  _ injured, and there is no reason she couldn’t have taken ibuprofen and improved her own life even if it was injured. Also, she could just wear a wrist brace and get over herself.

“All that aside, and I had a fashion disaster to deal with this morning or I would have said it sooner, I’ve been talking to Prince Ali. He’s got no idea who you are, has heard no mention of any of your so-called projects, and has not received a single euro from anyone with the last name Rossi toward his charity efforts.”

A mouse could sigh in the room and everyone would have heard it.

“Also, Jagged Stone stayed in my father’s famous hotel a few weeks ago, so I ask him about you as well. Mostly out of jealousy, mind you, but I asked him. He has never heard of anyone named Lila Rossi, has never owned a cat, Fang, his crocodile has never needed saved, and honestly, he was rather insulted by the idea of owning a cat. He finds them entirely despicable.”

“You all have been played for fools  _ and _ you’ve thrown Marinette, the girl who  _ slaves _ to make you all happy, out like she has never done a nice thing in her life  _ and  _ decided to dedicate your trust and happiness into someone who lies, and lies poorly at that. You’re all sheep, taken in by the charismatic wolf who hides the sharpest teeth behind the softest mouth. Marinette tried to help you guys. Marinette, who most of you have known since we were all toddlers. Marinette, who is sometimes awful to me, but she’s not cruel and she’s not power-hungry. You all are dumb and should start begging forgiveness now. I know who I’m siding with here.”

Chloe’s words echoed around, cutting like glass and burning like acid. Even Lila could not make her tongue work. Then, in the biggest power move of the century, Chloe Bourgeois went and sat down next to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, someone she is well-known for despising. She whispered so only Marinette could hear, “You’re welcome.” She took a bite of her food, as though she hadn’t just ripped a fellow classmate to shreds. Marinette wasn’t to know it yet, but she had already had this same discussion with Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles. The seating chart was…  _ almost _ back to normal. She had vouched for a certain seating change, but again, Marinette wasn’t to know it was her.

“Thank you, Chloe,” Marinette whispered back, floored. “I mean it… Like… thank you… a lot. I owe you  _ big  _ time.”

Chloe smiled at her, and for the first time, the smile felt warm. “Adrien was right, you know. You  _ are _ our everyday-Ladybug. You fight for us when we don’t deserve it. Sometimes, you just need someone to fight for you too.”

Marinette smiled back, then startled as someone sat on her other side.

Then almost lost her mind as she realized Adrien Agreste had popped down beside her, eloquently joining her side. “Chloe, that was the  _ nicest  _ thing I have ever seen you do. I don’t even have the words to describe how proud I am of you,” he said quietly, eyes on Marinette.

Chloe beamed. 

“And I think this table is about to become  _ very _ popular,” he grinned at Marinette. “But before it does, I owe you a real, sincere apology. You, obviously, were right and I didn’t stand up for you when I should have. I’m really sorry, Marinette.”

Marinette just grinned. “I forgive you,” she whispered, watching as Alya sat down next to Max.

“Marinette…” Alya’s hazel eyes welled with tears. “I don’t even have the words for how sorry I am… I messed up so bad… You didn’t deserve that at all… I can’t believe I was so stupid… I guess… You always see the good in people, and I couldn’t do that, so when there was finally someone who you couldn’t see the good in, I just wanted to see good in her. I should have trusted you. You’re… You deserve better.”

“Thanks, Alya. I forgive you, too. Next time, trust me and try not to write off my problems as insignificant.”

Alya blushed, but nodded nonetheless.

And so it went. Almost every member of the class came over, sincerely apologized to Marinette, and joined her and her friends at the table.

 

Then it was time for class again.

People filed to their new seats, Marinette included, but Ms. Bustier clapped her hands and asked people to stop.

“It has come to my attention that there was a misunderstanding for the seating chart. Lila, you will sit in the back by Nathanael, and everyone else will go back to their original seats. The only change will be Marinette and Nino switching spots. I’ve had a complaint that Marinette and Alya talk too much and disrupt learning.”

Marinette could not believe her luck. Not only would she get to sit with her friends again, but she would be sitting next to Adrien.

She had been so scared this morning that the awful dystopia Lila was constructing out of her world was permanent. It was scarier than any akuma.

But, as she suspected, people were good. And they fought for.

Marinette caught Chloe’s eye as she sat down next to Adrien. Chloe looked decidedly pleased with herself, and suddenly why she was late to lunch made infinitely more sense. “Thank you,” she mouthed again at the blonde. 

Chloe winked.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tiny sequel absolutely no one asked for but I'm providing anyways XD

It was a couple weeks later before Marinette could suitably pay Chloe back, but even she thought she outdid herself when she did.

The weeks following the incident with Max and Lila, Marinette was consistently kind to Chloe. Even when Chloe was having a bad day, even when she did awful things to other people, Marinette treated her with nothing but kindness. When she brought treats for her friends, she brought one for Chloe too. When Sabrina was gone and no one wanted to be her partner in class, Marinette offered for her to join Adrien and her.

And though she didn’t intend to stop the kindness anytime soon, as being nice to Chloe was much more rewarding than being mean, she had a bigger surprize for the blonde and she couldn’t wait to show her.

Chloe’s birthday was today.

The class all brought little gifts; a chocolate bar, a card, a gift card to a café. 

Marinette’s gift was decidedly bigger. She brought two presents, elegantly wrapped with golden bows, for Chloe Bourgeois: one large tube and a good-sized box. Even Chloe was giving her confused looks.

Usually Marinette’s gift for her was the smallest in the class, not the biggest. 

And so the class, starting in the back, snaked their way forward. Sabrina had already given Chloe her gift before school, so Marinette was the last to give her her present. 

“Open the tube first,” Marinette smiled warmly, albeit a little nervously. It would be rather disheartening if Chloe didn’t like any of the presents she made.

“What did you get her?” Adrien leaned over to whisper in her ear.

Marinette just looked back at him and winked. “You’ll see.”

The sound of paper tearing was all Marinette needed to turn around again. 

Inside the wrapping was a giant poster, approximately one by two meters in length. A Marinette original, it showcased all the heroes of Paris, but largest and in the middle was Queen Bee, better known as Chloe Bourgeois. Standing back to back with Queen Bee was Chloe herself, and Marinette swore she could see tears in her eyes as she watched Chloe’s reaction. 

“I titled it ‘The Powerful of Paris’, but you’re welcome to change it to whatever you want,” Marinette said softly, the rest of the class silently in awe.

Chloe couldn’t even manage words. 

“Do you like it?” Marinette asked a moment later, getting a little concerned. Chloe hadn’t said a word about it yet, and neither had the rest of the class, so she was suddenly worried she messed up.

“ _ Like _ it?” Chloe murmured, making eye-contact with Marinette now. “I  _ love _ it. Really… I love it. Thank you.”

Marinette sighed in relief. “The next one might be a bit more risky, but I was inspired. I really hope you like them.”

Chloe rerolled the poster and gently tore open the box. Inside, there were three things. The first one was a summer dress, white with yellow, horizontal stripes. It had cutouts at the waist and a poofy skirt, and clean cut short sleeves. Chloe smiled. 

The next one was another dress, this one a floor-length dress with long sleeves. It was sleeveless, black with a gold stripe around the top. The skirt had a slit that went fairly high. The dress as a whole was silky and stunning. It reminded Chloe a bit of her mother, but somehow better and more  _ her _ . 

The class gasped. 

“They’re beautiful, Marinette…” Chloe managed. “You made these… for me?”

Marinette nodded, gesturing to the box. “There’s one more gift.”

The last thing in the box was another smaller box. Inside was a necklace.

“I’m not as good at jewelry, but I try.”

The necklace had a simple gold chain, and five little charms. The biggest one was a bee, glittering and shiny with a sky-blue eye, and there was a smaller cat, ladybug, turtle, and fox charm, two on each side of it. 

Chloe stood up abruptly, and threw her arms around Marinette. Marinette embraced her back.

“Thank you!” She cried out. “These are the best gifts ever!”

“Thank  _ you _ . You deserve the best, _hero_.”

 


End file.
